The name of the hotel that Eunice escapes to when she and Steve get into a vicious argument. It is also where Eunice accuses Steve of “chasing [a blonde] around the balcony” (75).Additionally, it is referred to later on when “hot trumpet and drums from the Four Deuces sound loudly” (130) when Stanley is violating Blanche. The word “deuce’ generally means one of the four playing cards in a deck that has two spots, or a two in dice.
72
Stone Age
The time period during which humans created most of their tools from stone, before the discovery of metals and metal-working. Here, Blanche deems Stanley “survivor of the stone age” to emphasize her opinion of his being a primitive, rough, and even bestial character. Stanley is further characterized in such a way when Blanche states that he “[bears] the raw meat home from the kill in the jungle”.
71
Seersucker pants
Pants made from a light puckered fabric (usually striped). These pants are arguably proper enough to be worn at formal occasions, and are usually popular during the summer months as they are lighter than other pants such as corduroys. Here, Stanley’s “grease-stained seersucker pants” indicate that he has been doing some dirty labor, as it is later revealed on page 73 that he has been working underneath a car.
76
Aries
The astrological sign that Blanche assumes Stanley was born under, as she says “Aries people are forceful and dynamic. They dote on noise!” (76). Aries people are said to be aggressive, self-expressive, assertive and energetic. In love they are passionate but not tactful. They are also quick-minded but not philosophical. Arians’ greatest faults are bad tempers and restlessness. All these traits seem to be possessed by Stanley to some extent, lending some credit to Blanche’s assumption.
76
Capricorn
Since Stanley was born “just five minutes after Christmas” (76), he is actually a Capricorn, and not an Aries as Blanche first assumes him to be. Stanley’s birthday is notable; he was almost born on the same day as the holy figure Jesus Christ, yet misses the special day by a slim margin. Capricorns are associated with good organizational skills, neatness, servility, egotism, excessive perfectionism and Strong work ethic. They are conventional, respect authority and can be cruel at times. Strangely enough, these characteristics do not seem to describe Stanley as well as Aries does.What is highly ironic is that Capricorns and Virgos (Blanche’s sign, meaning The Virgin, making it even more ironic considering her many romantic encounters at the Hotel Flamingo) are said to be most compatible when it comes to relationships. We understand this is not true because their feelings of distaste towards each other have been mutual throughout the play.
74
“Forewarned is forearmed.”
An idiom that Blanche laughingly uses when writing a letter to Shep Huntleigh. She is referring to her supposed “sudden notion to swoop down to Dallas” to visit him. The idiom means that paying attention to a warning allows you to prepare for trouble.
The word “deuce’ generally means one of the four playing cards in a deck that has two spots, or a two in dice.
The time period during which humans created most of their tools from stone, before the discovery of metals and metal-working. Here, Blanche deems Stanley “survivor of the stone age” to emphasize her opinion of his being a primitive, rough, and even bestial character. Stanley is further characterized in such a way when Blanche states that he “[bears] the raw meat home from the kill in the jungle”.
The astrological sign that Blanche assumes Stanley was born under, as she says “Aries people are forceful and dynamic. They dote on noise!” (76). Aries people are said to be aggressive, self-expressive, assertive and energetic. In love they are passionate but not tactful. They are also quick-minded but not philosophical. Arians’ greatest faults are bad tempers and restlessness. All these traits seem to be possessed by Stanley to some extent, lending some credit to Blanche’s assumption.